You've got a pear...

Chef Glenn Burgess, one of our Home Cooking Consultants is a wonderful writer, especially when the topic is food. Enjoy this piece he wrote on pears...and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'm a big fan of pears. Pears are the unsung hero of the autumn produce section of your local grocery store. Sure, there are dozens of apple varieties; apples have a better PR rep. But pears, ah pears, these require more than a casual fondling to check for bruising. No, pears require, nay DEMAND, a more intense relationship. They may appear inviting on the display, yet when brought home they may resist ripening. Or they may present an appetizing exterior, only to reveal a heart riddled by decay. Yes, pears are almost certainly female, luring us in with tempting curves and succulent fragrance, whetting our desires only to disappoint us at the crucial moment. Pears suffer from identity crises that an apple would never stand for. People invariably think of pears in terms of color: "green, brown and red". Oh, and "those cute little ones..." Would a Granny Smith apple stand for generic identification as a "green apple"? I tell you no, it would not. Neither should you settle for an anonymous pear. There's more to a pear than its color. Here's a quick buyer's guide. "Green pears" - often considered the pear for eating out-of-hand. D'Anjou - gently rounded often without a "neck", stays green even when ripe. This pear also cooks well. Bartlett - smaller than a D'Anjou, the bartlett is the most common variety found in canned pears. Turns yellow when ripe. Bruises very easily. Known as "Williams" pear outside of the US. Packham - distinctively "chunky" looking, closer to a Bartlett, slightly different season. Comice - typically much larger and of a short, round shape, the Comice is often called the "queen of pears" and frequently commands high prices in the produce department. It has delicious flesh but when overripe, it can have an overbearing floral scent. "Brown pears" - generally considered a cooking pear. Bosc - Up until a few years ago, there was just the brown Bosc variety. Unripe it has a greenish tinge underneath the brown skin, which is quite thick and tannic. When ripe the tinge changes to yellow giving the pear a more golden brown appearance. Taylor Gold - discovered in 1986, New Zealand began exporting this wonderful new brown pear. It is thought to be either a natural mutation of the green Comice pear, or a cross between a green Comice and a brown Bosc. Available during the summer in North America, this is a FANTASTIC eating pear with juicy flesh and lots of floral scent. I prefer to peel mine, finding the peel distasteful. I'd much rather eat this pear than it's green cousin. “Red pears” - often identified only by color, the average consumer might not realize there are several distinct varieties. Red D'Anjou – Discovered in the 1970's, most texts simply regard it as a red colored cousin of the green D'Anjou. I disagree, and hold the red D'Anjou as my second favorite pear, behind the Taylor Gold. Stark Crimson – an eating pear, with smooth flesh and a bright red skin. Red Bartlett – Considered nearly identical in flavor to a green Bartlett "the small pears" - diminutive in size, considered a good snacking fruit. Forelle - green with a red blush in a distinctive pattern reminiscent of a Rainbow trout (trout translates into "forelle" in German). Green area turns yellow as it ripens. Very sweet. Seckel - green with a red blush. Very sweet.